After the fall of Saigon in 1975, Nghia Sinh began a new life in Chicago as a sponsor and reception agency (VOLAG) for Vietnamese and other Indochinese refugees. From 1975 to 1987, Nghia Sinh resettled over 1,000 such refugees in Illinois. On some occasions this resettlement work was carried out solely by unpaid volunteers. At other times Nghia Sinh had subcontracts from the U.S. State Department/AFCR. These funds were used partly for providing direct financial assistance to newly arrived refugees and partly for paying part-time staff.

This resettlement work involved airport pickups; food and housing for the first 30 days; escort; link-up with social security; access to health clinics, schools, and public aid; access and linkage to previously resettled Indochinese refugees. Each refugee received $250 in cash upon arrival. In addition, each refugee and every refugee sponsored by Nghia Sinh received $50 as a wedding gift and $50 for family funeral assistance. Over 70 percent of the refugees are now working. More than 20 percent are attending colleges while another 10 percent are taking retirement.

On Thanksgiving each year, refugees sponsored by Nghia Sinh get together to thank God for His blessing, to share life experience with one another, and to enjoy an Asian American dinner.

Beginning in 1987, Nghia Sinh started to address the issue of youth orphan problems such as school dropouts, drugs, gangs, and crimes through its prevention programs. Nghia Sinh also offered cross-cultural workshops, individual counseling sessions, after-school programs, and martial arts classes, among other programs.

At the White House in April, 1983, President Ronald Reagan personally honored Nghia Sinh and its founder, Dr. Nguyen-Trung Hieu, with the Presidential Medal of Volunteerism for its volunteer human care services.

Intro to Nghia Sinh

In June 1963, Nghia Sinh was founded in Saigon as a humanitarian organization to provide emergency assistance to the elderly and the poor who arrived in Saigon as refugees from the countryside of Vietnam. Nghia Sinh has also provided food, clothes, shelter, and medicine to war victims since 1966.